This will be a bitter pill for some conservatives to swallow. CIA Director Michael Hayden personally reviewed and okayed Henry Waxman's opening statement for Valerie Plame's testimony today. Furthermore, Hayden took pains to set the record straight: Plame was indeed a covert agent up until the day Robert Novak revealed as much to the public. You see, many on the right (including some here at The Stump) have spent a lot of time trying to convince us otherwise. They never fail to use quotation marks when referring to the administration's "outing" of Plame so as to suggest that no such undercover status ever existed. While Patrick Fitzgerald may not have believed he had enough evidence to prove that a crime was committed, there was really never much doubt that Plame had covert status.
In fact, Plame's testimony proved illuminating on a number of fronts. Under oath, articulate, and forceful, she laid to waste a veritable forest of myths that the right has erected against her. No, she wasn't a mere pencil pusher, she'd undertaken undercover missions to foreign countries over the past five years. No, she hadn't been the one to select her husband to go to on his fact-finding mission to Niger. No, she didn't talk to Nicholas Kristof (or others in the media) about her job at the CIA. But most importantly, in the words of the man who now heads the CIA, she was very much a covert agent.
Reader Comments ( Page 11 of 11)
151. The word "covert" has flexible meanings. Those who drafted the law that was supposedly broken testified at the same hearing that she did NOT meet the criteria specified in the statute. That's why neither Armitage, Novak, nor anyone else was indicted. Since this fact (and the fact that it was Armitage who initially disclosed her identity) was known even before Fitzgerald began his "investigation", there was never a valid reason for Libby even to be questioned. That said, Libby still should have answered truthfully under oath, although that's something that has never bothered Democrats before.
The Left also certainly never had any qualms about national security when the financial data-mining program was being disclosed (not to mention Clinton selling missile technology to the Chinese for campaign funds) so spare me the cries about it now.
The fact is, Wilson's trip was just a pity assignment to give him something to do, that no one in their right mind would have chosen him for, except that Plame was sitting right there . His supposed investigation ("drinking mint tea by the pool") would never have uncovered anything anyway, and yet the only conclusion he made (that Iraq simply sought to expand trade with Niger) actually bolstered the administration's case, since Niger has nothing to export EXCEPT uranium ore. Trying to make yourself look like a courageous whistle-blower by attacking the President in the NY Times (especially with BS data) is a piss-poor way to keep a low profile to protect one's "secret agent" wife.
People who buy into this whole "Wilson and Plame are heroic patriots" schtick need to pull their heads out into the sunshine and realize that this country has enemies much more dangerous than George W. Bush, and that not everything that seems bad for him is good for us, even if you do have a left-wing agenda.
Larry Cline at 5:35PM on Mar 19th 2007
152. I think Valerie Plame is very attractive. This middle aged medical professional will play covertly with her any time she wishes.
james swick at 3:11PM on Mar 20th 2007
153. Let me get this correct. Someone working at CIA headquarters is a covert agent. Someone who doesn't like the Bush Administration and its policies and on his own leaks the name of someone working at the CIA headquarters is working for the Bush Administration's policies. If you blieve the above, I have stock in the Brooklyn Bridge Company I wish to sell you.
George Kuck at 1:05PM on Mar 16th 2007
--Yo George, she WAS COVERT. She wasn't just a desk jockey working at Langley. Read the book THE POLITICS OF TRUTH, written, ironically, by Ambassador Joseph Wilson, husband to Valerie Plame. Available on Amazon.com
colleen mogh at 10:09PM on Mar 20th 2007
154. HYPOCRICY = REPUBLICANS
It is as simple as that. There is a reason they are loosing their grip on power. Their lies got them in power. It is their lies & hypocricy that will drive them out. From Gingrich wanting to have his private life off the table to Bush outing a CIA agent (Bush's Father was in the CIA), WMD's etc...... I'm looking forward to another Democrat sweep in 2008. Bye-Bye
Paul at 2:44PM on Mar 21st 2007
155. When the story broke,I questioned why Cheney wasn't held responsible for leaking the name of a CIA agent in a time of war. I always thought that was treason. If I am not mistaken, I believe the answer is that the President decides what information is classified, and he and Cheney "declassified" her undercover status before it was leaked to the press.
Janice at 7:01PM on Mar 21st 2007
156. Armitage is at the epicenter of the outing and so is Novak why weren't they indicted? As for WMD weaponized nerve gas (as used on the Kurds) and radioactivity as found in the bunkers under the Tigres River certainly qualify as well as the Mega Capacitors found in Iraq that were sold to them by the French. This is to say nothing about the Sadam tapes as aired at the Intell Summit of 2006 where Sadam states how he fooled the U.N. inspectors in hiding the WMDs. The press is having a field day and just giving aid and comfort to the enemy and totally ignoring the real truth.
al at 9:03PM on Mar 21st 2007
157. Why wasn't Sandy Burglar indicted for stealing documents from the Nat'l Archives that implicated the Clinton administrations complicity and inaction for all the acts of terrorism on his watch with no real response.
al at 9:13PM on Mar 21st 2007
158. To answer the Novak question, it's not illegal for the media to report classified information. That is unfortunate in this case, but media is covered. It is the government officials who shamelessly leaked her identity who bare the responsibility of what I consider high treason. That is where the supposed "crime" took place. I put crime in quotes because I believe the leakers involved escaped indictments on the main crime via a loophole or technicality. For instance, Valerie Plame was a Non Official Cover (NOC) agent. That status allows the U.S. government to legally disavow any knowledge of her, especially if she was exposed or captured overseas. So if they could disavow her status, perhaps they could "out" her without consequences. Just a guess. Either way, the outing of a CIA spy working to protect us from WMD, is the worst thing any White House can do.
Forrest at 2:06AM on Mar 22nd 2007
159. Dear Idiots,
I mean this in the sincerest of terms. You are dumb (yes, dumb has a "b" at the end....surprised?). You clearly don't know the details of the Plame case. You don't show the mental capacity to understand the most basic fact (e.g. CIA chief Hayden, a Bush appointee, says Plame was covert...thus the investigation). If I thought you were capable of reading a book or a reputable newspaper, or possessing a vocabulary beyond Neocon/Limbaugh/Hannity talking points or being informed by anything outside of the Fox Noise network (a.k.a. choosing truth over lies), I'd explain this CIA leak case to you. But instead, I'd be better served explaining it to the deceased Neanderthal Man, who will still GET IT before you do. Happy Dumb Down Day to you all--Sincerely, your Intellectual Superior
Forrest at 2:32AM on Mar 22nd 2007
160. First, Joe Wilson has already been discredited by the Senate Intelligence Committee as being untruthful in his testimony before them. In other words, it is on the Senate record that he lied! ~ It has been clearly explained that covert is a word the CIA uses carelessly to cover positions, but covert under the terms of the specific law that makes it illegal to out a convert agent is clear and well-defined. Under the terms of that law, as stated by the person who drafted the law, she was NOT covert. ~ She was not truthful in her Congressional testimony when she said she had nothing to do with sending her husband to Niger and everyone who was listening knew that.~These people - the Wilsons - are just haters of the administration and looking to capitalize for themselves on this situation. ~ No crime was committed!
Bill at 8:59AM on Mar 22nd 2007